Currently, when information about traffic on a road or series of roads is communicated in commercial broadcasts, written traffic reports or even in casual conversation, terms such as ‘jammed’, ‘bottled up’, ‘moderate’ and ‘heavy’ are often used. These terms provide little or no specific information to the listener or viewer. Terms such as these are imprecise in that they simply express that traffic is not traveling at the maximum potential speed for the road. Additionally, terms such as these are very subjective. What one person might describe as ‘moderate’, another person might describe as ‘jammed’ based on their frame of reference. Yet, most people would agree that ‘moderate’ and ‘jammed’ are not equivalent descriptions of traffic conditions. What is needed is an objective, precise, quantitative way to express information about the level of traffic so that a listener or viewer of that rating will have an understanding of the meaning of that information and that the information will be useful to them.